New Year’s Eve imbibers warned not to take sobriety for granted

David Kihara

Saturday, Jan. 1, 2005 | 2:09 a.m.

Call Designated DRivers at 456-RIDE (&$##) if you want the service.

For Jim Krig, New Year's Eve is his busiest night of the year -- and he couldn't be happier.

Krig is chief executive of Designated Drivers Inc., a "designated driving" service that specializes in keeping drunken drivers off the road.

Better known as 456-RIDE (7433), the service will again offer to drive anyone and their automobile home for free this New Year's Eve, from 5 p.m. Friday until 5 p.m. Saturday.

The company provides drivers year-round who will take you and your car home for $45 if you have had one too many drinks at a bar, party or any gathering, Krig said.

Each New Year's Eve, Krig has offered his service free of charge in the Las Vegas Valley as a way to spread a holiday generosity and to offer drunken drivers an alternative to getting behind the wheel.

"It's a great way to give during the holidays, and it's the kind of gift that stays with someone throughout the year so they might think to call us again," Krig said.

New Year's Eve is the busiest night for 456-RIDE, he said. During the holiday last year it provided about 300 free rides.

Krig isn't the only one looking to keep drunken drivers off the roads this holiday season. All CAT bus rides will be free of charge from 5 p.m. Friday through 5 p.m. Saturday, said Ingrid Reisman, spokeswoman for the Regional Transportation Commission, which operates the bus system.

"This allows people to get a ride home but gives them enough time to get their car the next day," Reisman said.

CAT will also operate 11 routes in the Las Vegas Valley all night and will extend some routes to 2 a.m., she said. Contact (702) 228-RIDE or www.catride.com to check bus schedules for New Year's Eve.

The legal limit for blood alcohol content in Nevada is 0.08. It was changed by the Legislature last year because the state would have lost federal highway funds if it didn't lower the limit from 0.10. For a 185-pound man, this could be about three or four drinks, depending on how fast he drank the alcohol, how much he had eaten and his tolerance.

"Alcohol or drug use is the No. 1 contributing factor to fatal car accidents," said Erin Breen, director of UNLV's Safe Community Partnership. "When you drink and drive, you are taking a chance with your life and everyone else's on the road."

Breen said that the average person would not get behind the wheel with a 0.08 blood alcohol level, yet common sense often falters when drinking.

"The responsible person knows when to say no, but after a few drinks (his) judgment is often impaired," she said.

There were four traffic fatalities in Nevada during the celebrations from Dec. 31, 2002, to Jan. 1, 2003, and all took place in Clark County, said John Johansen of the Nevada Office of Traffic Safety. All four involved drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol, he said.

The number the previous year was lower, with two fatalities from Dec. 31, 2001, to Jan. 1, 2002, he said. Those fatalities occurred in Clark County and one involved a driver under the influence of drugs or alcohol, Johansen said.

Although New Year's Eve has a reputation as the holiday with the highest number of drunken drivers, Metro Police said that it is really on the same level as other holidays such as Labor Day or the Fourth of July.

"New Year's Eve is really no different than other holidays in terms of drunken drivers," said Detective Bill Redfairn of Metro's Transportation Safety Bureau.

He did say that one difference with the New Year's festivities is that people who wouldn't normally drink alcohol consume it and then drive, not realizing how drunk they are because they are not accustomed to the alcohol's effects.

"I can't tell you how many times I've stopped someone and they told me, 'But officer, I never drink,' " Redfairn said.

Metro arrested between 100 and 125 people for driving under the influence during the 2003 New Year's celebration over a three-day period, he said.

This year, he expects Metro will arrest between 75 and 125 people for driving under the influence even though police are not setting up any random checkpoints throughout the valley.

He said most police resources are going to be on the Strip.

Redfairn advised any motorist to call 911 if he spots a driver weaving in traffic or otherwise driving erratically.

"Call 911 and report the incident, but above all, don't try to chase them or follow the drunk driver," he said. "They might try to get away, or you might get into an accident while trying to keep up with them."